Washington Mutualís new CEO got 20 Million for his freakin' 17 days on the job !

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WaMuís new CEO Alan Fishman gets $20 million pay package after only Seventeen Day on the Job !

Washington Mutualís new chief executive will receive a salary and incentive package worth more than $20 million through 2009 for taking the helm of the battered Seattle-based bank.

The pay package details were released by the bank in a regulatory filing at the close of business Thursday ó a day that saw the companyís stock dip below $2.

Shares of the company (NYSE: WM) closed at $2.83, up about 22 percent compared with Wednesdayís close. It briefly traded as low as $1.75.

Alan Fishman, 62, who replaces ousted chief executive Kerry Killinger, will receive an annual base salary of $1 million, a sign-on bonus of $7.5 million and an annual bonus of 365 percent of his base salary, or of $3.65 million. WaMu declined to comment on the pay package.

If he stays for the full year, heíll receive a long-term incentive award of no less than $8 million, according to the Security and Exchange Commission filing.

Fishman also will receive options to purchase 5 million shares of the company and 612,500 restricted shares, which will vest at an annual rate of 33.3 percent over three years if heís still employed. The options will have a term of seven years and will vest based on his service and company performance, although a quarter of those shares, or 1.25 million, will vest after one year regardless of performance.

If Fishman is fired or resigns as a result of ďconstructive termination,Ē heíll receive a golden parachute within 10 days, worth 2.5 times his current base salary and his annual bonus of the preceding year.

Killingerís annual pay has been estimated by various news sources at about $15 million.

Kind of misleading. He didnt get the $20 Million yet. Most of that are retention bonuses which are very common when trying to get a good leader to join a struggling company. So in order to get all of that money he has to stay for a year and keep the company alive. That is very reasonable.

Good people arent cheap, and its going to take a good leader to save what is left of WaMu.

Kind of misleading. He didnt get the $20 Million yet. Most of that are retention bonuses which are very common when trying to get a good leader to join a struggling company. So in order to get all of that money he has to stay for a year and keep the company alive. That is very reasonable.

Good people arent cheap, and its going to take a good leader to save what is left of WaMu.

They aren't going to recover.They will be broken up and sold piecemeal .Their stock is selling At about $2 dollars/share and there are few takers.He will be part of a high end severance and walk with a ton of loot after the breakup !

That's fine, but you still need people working there during the transition and this is reasonable pay for a bank CEO for a 12 month period.They have over $300 Billion in assets. Someone needs to watch over those.

That's fine, but you still need people working there during the transition and this is reasonable pay for a bank CEO for a 12 month period.They have over $300 Billion in assets. Someone needs to watch over those.

The Bean counters watch the store the CEO flaps his lip and makes statements to the stockholders meetings but there will be few there these days.

When times are good and the company is flush with profits the CEO guides and steers the company in new directions towards new profits but those days are long gone now its a caretakers job, not a high pay CEO's !

The Bean counters watch the store the CEO flaps his lip and makes statements to the stockholders meetings but there will be few there these days.

When times are good and the company is flush with profits the CEO guides and steers the company in new directions towards new profits but those days are long gone now its a caretakers job, not a high pay CEO's !

What would you suggest? Find a CEO and pay him $500k per year? Do you really think you are going to get anyone to leave a good, safe job and come run WaMu for that?!

The reality is, there is still a company to run. A company with a lot of assets. And whoever takes the job knows it is only going to last a year, at best. So in order to get a good leader willing to take a big risk, you have to pay big.

Look at what Chrysler paid Bob Nardelli to leave Home Depot. And look at what Home Depot paid to get rid of him. This is nothing!

What would you suggest? Find a CEO and pay him $500k per year? Do you really think you are going to get anyone to leave a good, safe job and come run WaMu for that?!

The reality is, there is still a company to run. A company with a lot of assets. And whoever takes the job knows it is only going to last a year, at best. So in order to get a good leader willing to take a big risk, you have to pay big.

Look at what Chrysler paid Bob Nardelli to leave Home Depot. And look at what Home Depot paid to get rid of him. This is nothing!

Have it your way then but its foolishness to me.'B' school MBA's know everything I guess !

Have it your way then but its foolishness to me.'B' school MBA's know everything I guess !

Well, I am not saying he is worth it, per se, I am just saying it is the reality of business. Nothing good comes cheap. WaMu still has a business to run, and they need a leader that will stay on through this very difficult phase of their business.